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Justice. Only Justice Shall Thou Pursue

Monday, November 14, 2011

Assad Continues Bloodletting; Jordan's King Abdullah Calls On Assad To Step Down

Nothing short of military action against Syria will stop Bashar al Assad's evil regime and brutal crackdown. Calls by the Arab League to cease and desist from the crackdown to negotiate changes in policy have been rebuffed. Stronger actions, such as the Arab League agreeing to allow member states to impose sanctions and recall diplomats have gone to no avail. That's in addition to the Arab League suspending Syria from organization activities.

The Jordanian monarch’s remarks, made in an interview with the BBC, came as Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, was still smarting from the Arab League’s unexpectedly strong rebuke over the weekend with its decision to suspend Syria’s membership. Syria also faced additional sanctions imposed Monday by the European Union.

“I believe, if I were in his shoes, I would step down,” King Abdullah told the BBC. “If Bashar has the interest of his country, he would step down, but he would also create an ability to reach out and start a new phase of Syrian political life.”

Other countries in the region with historically close ties to Syria, notably Turkey and Iran, have warned Mr. Assad that he should take steps to satisfy the demands of protesters in the eight-month-old uprising, which has now become a focal point in the Arab revolts that have felled autocratic regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya this year. But the public comments about Mr. Assad by King Abdullah — who has faced some Arab Spring protests in his own country — went beyond what others have said.

Earlier Monday, Mr. Assad’s foreign minister said the Arab League suspension was “an extremely dangerous step.” He also apologized for a spree of attacks on foreign embassies in Syria by pro-Assad loyalists outraged over the Arab League move.

The foreign minister, Walid al-Moallem, speaking at a televised news conference in Damascus, reiterated Syria’s contention that it had complied with the terms of a proposed Arab League peace plan by withdrawing its armed troops from urban areas, releasing political prisoners and offering pardons to militants.

Fact is that Assad accelerating the bloodshed after the Arab League first took action two weeks ago to try and negotiate an end to the bloodshed. He can't care about anything else other than remaining in power. That's all that matters to him. Sanctions wont stop him or his regime.

Recognizing the opposition as a legitimate entity would possibly alter things, but the opposition has yet to take territory akin to that of the Libyan resistance. The Syrian opposition doesn't have the organization nor support. That means that the Arab League and others have few options to stop the bloodshed. Assad knows this, which is why he's accelerating the body count. He has nothing to lose.